Accrington

Another small Lancashire town, Accrington is just east of Blackburn, and similar in size to Darwen. As well as textiles, Accrington is known for the very strong bricks made from local fireclay. They are called Accrington NORI, possibly because the brick mould said IRON, and when the bricks were made, the letters were reversed.

"Accrington Stanley, Who Are They?" Accrington's other claim-to-fame is a famously unknown football team, following an advert for milk in 1989. 

Like the other towns I visited recently, the centre of Accrington has a number of impressive buildings, dating from it Victorian zenith. In Darwen they were strung out along one road; here they are rather more scattered, which makes forming a narrative for this blog tricky, so in no particular order...

The town hall is neo-classical, but they have chosen to obscure it rather with some very functional market stalls.

Across the road is what I guess was a bank.

Council offices, possible a former mill - that looks like a water tower on the near corner.

This shopping arcade, imaginatively called The Arcade, has seen better days.

This is a delightfully old-fashioned department store; I did not think shops like this still exist.

The Commercial Hotel.

The pedestrianised area; it was a Sunday when I visited, and that may be why it looks so quiet.

This building in called The Magical Kingdom, which seems rather appropriate.

The railway from Blackburn to Burnley passes through just west of the centre on an impressive viaduct. There is a large roundabout under the viaduct that has been nicely landscaped.

Accrington is on the river Hyndburn. Most of it is culverted, but you can get a brief glimpse as it appears from under the town, before it disappears again to go under the roundabout.

To the south of the centre is a road called Black Abbey Street. There was never an abbey here, but there was a grange established by monks from Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds. Locals were annoyed at their land being taken, so burned down the building, killing three monks. The street likely commemorates that!

There is an Abbey Hotel on the street; I guess the hotel takes its name from the street.

Nearby is Accrington's nod to Art Deco, the fire station, and beyond it the police station, and behind that, in the same block, the magistrates court, all built in 1933. All now closed, and were put up for auction in 2018; not sure how that turned out.

The police station and the magistrates courts featured in Most Haunted.

East of the centre is the Arden Inn.

The road on the right side of it is Plantation Street, which heads east out of the town  to Arden Hall. It passes the church of S Paul....

The entrance to Arden Hall playing fields....

Becomes Plantation Road....

Before getting to the hall - which is only just visible through the trees.

There are a lot of interesting, quirky buildings in Accrington, but nevertheless it lacks the charm of Padiham and, somehow, the appeal of Darwen. It just feels more run down.